Raphaël Salem facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Raphaël Salem
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Raphael Salem
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| Born | November 7, 1898 |
| Died | June 20, 1963 (aged 64) |
| Alma mater | Sorbonne University École Centrale Paris |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematician |
| Institutions | MIT, École Centrale Paris, University of Caen |
| Doctoral students | Stephen H. Crandall |
Raphaël Salem was a brilliant Greek mathematician. He was born on November 7, 1898, in Salonika, which is now Thessaloniki, Greece. He passed away on June 20, 1963, in Paris, France. He is famous for some important ideas in mathematics, like the "Salem numbers" and "Salem–Spencer sets." After he died, a special award called the Salem Prize was created by his wife to honor young mathematicians.
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Raphaël Salem's Life Story
Raphaël Salem grew up in Salonika. His father, Emmanuel Salem, was a well-known lawyer. Raphaël came from a Jewish family that followed old traditions. When he was 15, his family moved to France. There, he studied at a school called Lycée Condorcet for two years.
At first, Raphaël thought he would become a lawyer like his father. He even started studying law at the University of Paris. But he was much more interested in mathematics and engineering! So, while still studying law, he also began taking math classes with a famous mathematician named Hadamard.
In 1919, he earned his law degree. He then decided to switch completely to science. He had been studying science alongside law for many years.
Education and Early Career
After getting his science degree from the Sorbonne, Salem then worked for an engineering degree. In 1921, he became an engineer from the École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures.
After finishing his studies in law, science, and engineering, Salem started working in banking. He joined the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas in 1921. In his free time, he worked on Fourier series. This was a topic in mathematics that interested him throughout his life.
Moving to America and Later Years
In 1939, Salem worked with a young Polish mathematician named Józef Marcinkiewicz. He kept writing math papers even while working at the bank.
When World War II began in September 1939, Salem was called to serve in the military. He was part of the French Army's General Staff. He went to England to help with a committee that worked between French and British forces. He left the military in June 1940.
Salem left England in the autumn of 1940 and moved to the United States. He settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1941, he started teaching mathematics at the MIT. He quickly became an assistant and then an associate professor there.
In 1958, he was made a Professor at the Sorbonne. He lived in Paris until he passed away in 1963. After Salem's death, his wife created the Salem Prize. This is an international award given to young researchers who make great contributions to Fourier series.
Raphaël Salem's Family and Hobbies
In 1923, Raphaël Salem married a young woman named Adriana. They had three children together: a daughter and two sons.
Sadly, some of his family members were lost during World War II. His mother, his sister, and her family were arrested and died in a concentration camp. However, his older son survived the war. He joined the Free French Forces and took part in important landings in France in 1944. By this time, Raphaël's surviving family had managed to escape France and move to Canada.
Besides his love for mathematics, Salem also loved music. He enjoyed playing the violin, especially in quartets (groups of four musicians). He was also interested in art and literature. For sports, he enjoyed skiing and horseback riding.
Books by Raphaël Salem
Raphaël Salem wrote several important books on mathematics:
- Essais sur les séries trigonométriques, Paris, Hermann 1940
- Algebraic Numbers and Fourier Analysis, Boston, Heath, 1963
- Œuvres mathématiques de Raphaël Salem, Paris, Hermann, 1967
- with Jean-Pierre Kahane: Ensembles parfaits et séries trigonométriques, Paris, Hermann, 1963, 1994
